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Tag Archives: customer service

(So I’m going to try this Blog Every Day of June thing. One reason I haven’t done it in the past is the difficulty of coming up with a topic every day, so I’m going to try a bit of free association based on the day of the month in the context of libraries. We’ll see how long I last.)

Today the first thing I think of associated with “one” is my-place-of-work’s “One Library” philosophy. That is, we’re five physical branches, but all one system. The idea of the philosophy is to create consistency. This makes managing the place easier – you only need to come up with one set of rules – and it’s a lot clearer for users. They can use any branch(es) they like and expect the same rules to apply at each one.

Of course one of my mottoes is “It’s Not That Simple”. One size doesn’t fit all – branches do tend to have their unique usergroups, who have different needs. And students get very attached to “their” library branch and want it personalised to their needs. Sometimes it’s as obvious as different term times, so opening hours have to differ. Some disciplines have lots of group work while others need much more individual study space. Many disciplines have collections which can’t quite be boxed into the way the main collection is classified/stored/made available.

There are cultural differences too, and individual differences. Some people right now need to be in a single-story building to feel safe from earthquakes. Some complain the building’s too hot, others complain it’s too cold. Some people are most comfortable talking face-to-face, others much prefer chatting online. Some people need to be shown exactly how to find something, some people need to be allowed to poke at it on their own. The more options we can provide, the more users we can support.

Of course again we have (increasingly) limited time and resources to do this with, so it’s a tradeoff. How many options and how much personalisation can we afford without sacrificing consistency of quality?

Need to focus on retention/success especially for equity groups including mature students, those from rural, low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Mere’s story

Equity of access in libraries – barriersPersonal, Institutional, Societal (refering to Gorman (2000) p135 – thanks @greengecko29) Need to think about what we have control over, can improve.

StrategiesNeed a layout that makes ethnic minorities more comfortable. Ghastly painting replaced with tapa cloth. Some may have little experience with libraries/academic libraries. Need to make our purpose and roles clear to patrons. Some patrons have experiences of racism or marginalisation so especially need to be made comfortable. They’ve moved the reference collection to create a more open space. Grouped tables to create discussion area for laptops. Photocopier, laminator, etc in one area. Moving further back in the library gets quieter – self-regulated.

Collection reflects needs of users. Māori readers – project underway to reclassify these (cf RS2 session this afternoon about this). Small reference collection – only core bit left. Short loan collection is open access in same area.Information literacy workshops – work with student learning people to have tie-in lectures: eg first student learning workshop then library workshop. Try not to be authoritarian, invite input from group where possible to build rapport. Groups can be large, sometimes 20+. Remind that people can come back for followup/one-on-one – helps them to relax if feeling it’s too fast.

Relationships – especially with student but also faculty and support staff. Make the librarians’ role more effective and easier. Personal approach to greeting patrons – learning names – and greeting in Māori when comfortable. Body language especially important! Move away from desk when appropriate. Culturally appropriate acknolwedgement means feeling respected and valued. Taking interest in students as people means better able to serve them. Had a relationship with a student so could ask why they hadn’t seen him – he replied saying everyone seemed to know what they’re doing so he was embarrassed not to. Gave the opportunity to show him around – and 10 minutes later he was showing one of his friends around.

Reciprocity – students aren’t the only beneficiary of relationships. Students gathered outside library one day to sing Happy Birthday to Cherie in English and Māori. Another time presented her with a card to support her in her illness. Received a gift of a kete from a graduating student. Gets offered a ride home when raining. A feed of oysters!

Students feel uncomfortable when lack of Māori students and staff. Need to normalise the presence of Māori students and staff. Eg get classes brought in, student discussion groups.

Participation in campus events – because small campus often involved in things that aren’t technically library purview. Reinforces relationships and contributes to campus life. Food plays a big role!

Empowered students achieve.

QuestionsQ: You have good support from faculty to get library courses embedded – did that take a long time? Course programmes so tight we can’t muscle in.A: Sometimes have to work on it but mostly they’re good. Mostly the reciprocal thing – goes two ways.

Q: When moving out into campus activities is the library closed? Tension between participating and keeping library open when poorly staff.A: At powhiri time (before semester starts), everyone’s expected to close and go. Other times would stay open.

Lucy Lang and Louise MercerUsing influence and power to build a good customer relationshipMonday abstracts (pdf)

Power is a tool for good.

Define powerAudience suggestions: Authority, influence, control, imbalance, ability to make a decisionOED’s definition includes effectiveness. Power is also the ability to make power, to empower people.Short search has words: might, force, authority, potency, energy, motive, philosophical, managerial, political, actuate

Two forms of power: power over (which can be negative, reduces available options) and power to (not related to other people but our own intentions).

When you have power need we retain it, or can we share it?

Discuss customer expectations – audience brainstormAs a provider:

a polite welcome

results, efficiency

knowledge – reliable information

developing relationship

empowerment

that we listen

respect

As a customer:

quick and timely service

helpful and friendly

welcome and listening

quality service/product

a good experience

consistency

an appropriate service – appropriate to your needs

efficient

Their researchSimilar to what we said. Interviewed tertiary librarians (ran out of time to contact wider network.)

Expectations around communication, knowledge, attitude, service provision, service outcomes.

Communication – keep the customer informed even if you don’t know the answer. A quick response can be as useful as a lengthy query. Communicate on an emotional level – understand their situation and emotions. Body language is important here!

Knowledge – If we don’t know the answer find out. Context is important – understand what they need. Know the alternative solutions and pros and cons. Know our own limits – when to keep going and when to refer.

Attitude – Start by assuming that people are reasonable. They want personal connection, to feel like an individual. Someone has to be control – not always us, not always customer, but we need to read situation to decide where the power best sits. Giving up power empowers customer. Stay confident and consistent and let customer know they’re not just a number in a queue.

Service provision – be clear about how long things will take and keep promises. No unnecessary referrals (hard to gauge). Interviews often didn’t realise they’re using strategies to manage eg listening. Be adaptable, cheerful, consistent, honest. Many customers think we’re their only option – may become more needy, difficult, formal, guarded, have low expectations. We need to understand they’re relying on us.

Service outcome – Not just the solution but relationship building – trust and rapport. Need to help customers help themselves. Not just about whether they get what they want. True outcome is about how we got there. People remember how they feel more than whether they got what they needed.

What’s in the literature?Tucker (2010): library needs to balance needs of one against all users.Brewer (1995): empower frontline staff as representatives of library. Invest in training.

Product vs service – products can be machine-made; when provided a service people come away with a memory.

Beyond the library sectorFour strategies for influencing customers:

Assume leadership role

Humanise relationship

Advertise expertise

Unlock information vault – control of info is source of power

Minimise inequalities in the relationship.

What influences customers? It’s what they see and especially what they feel. A single interaction can influence how they view your organisation. Look at what they experience. What messages are they getting? How services are provided can be more important than the outcome. End result is still important, but good emotional response is vital.

Practical tips

Listen – simple but key. Hear what people mean not just what they say

Create a connection

Keep your promises

Questions

Q: Cf Auckland work on customer experienceA: Yes, want to look into that, just haven’t gone past tertiary yet. Asked librarians about their expectations as providers and then as customers – interesting to see differences even when it’s the same person thinking in different roles.

Library instructionI’ve recently been pondering the idea of database searches as an experiment – hypothesis, experiment, evaluate, modify the hypothesis and try again. This might make a useful way to introduce sci/tech students in particular to the idea that you’re not going to necessarily get your best results from your first search; I’ll have to see how they receive it when I’ve actually got a class to test it on.

Web servicesThe Web Is a Customer Service Medium discusses the idea that “the fundamental question of the web” is “Why wasn’t I consulted?” – that is, each medium has its niche of what it’s good at and why people use it, and webpages need to consider how to answer this question.

Library Day in the LifeRound 6 begins next week, in which librarians from all walks of librarianship share a day (or week) in the life.

NewsLibLime, an organisation which sells support to the New Zealand-developed open-source library system Koha, has recently announced changes to their practices that are technically legal but many feel don’t abide by the spirit of the open-source license. Library Journal has a basic summary of events with links to key discussions.

“Links of interest” is an irregular series of posts I started making recently to MPOW’s internal blog, based on items culled from FriendFeed, Twitter, and Google Reader. I started thinking it was a shame not to have it available publicly, so here it is. NB Dates on future posts will be in dd/mm/yy format….

UCOL tweets that: “UCOL Library now has over 20 wireless laptops students can use anywhere on campus. You can borrow a laptop for up to 3 hours.”

National Library explains Twitter – they compare it to Personal Items columns in early 20th century newspapers, describe the feedback and interaction they’ve had for their account, and talk about how they do it.